PlanetSide 2 introduces Battle Islands

PlanetSide 2's creative director Matt Higby briefly spoke about the game's new Battle Islands, which takes the MMO into more instanced territory.

Ozzie Mejia

July 1, 2013 11:35 AM

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Sony Online Entertainment announced a new set of updates for Planetside 2 at the MLG Spring Championships event in Anaheim over the weekend. Battle Islands is set to take the large-scale shooter out of the MMO space and into a more instanced Outfit v. Outfit scenario. According to creative director Matt Higby, this will help further usher the game into the eSports realm.

"The idea of Battle Islands is, rather than having a full-on 64 square kilometer continent, they're a little bit smaller," creative director Matt Higby told Shacknews. "They're more focused and they're designed for smaller-scale combat. The battle islands are also set up so that when we do our eSports gameplay mode, they'll be what's used. They'll be instanced in that case, instead of in our massively multiplayer mode. In the instanced version, they're set up for 48 v. 48 of objective-based combat and gameplay."

The first of the Battle Islands is called Nexus, a throwback to the original Planetside that's filled with icy environments. All gear, vehicles, and features that are available in the full world of Auraxis can be found in Battle Islands, though the smaller space will mean a heavier emphasis on action, which should appeal to the eSports crowd. Battle Islands will also be integrated into live servers, for non-MLG types to enjoy, as well. The update is coming soon.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?